Conference

Cheri Dedmon, Teaching Channel Account Manager, provides solutions to challenges faced by both large and small educational organizations throughout the Southeast and Midwest.

Dedmon has been an active member of the education community for over 43 years, having served in the role of classroom teacher, high school principal, district staff and member of the National School Reform Faculty.

Dedmon also launched a local teacher residency program in Tennessee supported by the Public Education Foundation. She serves as an academic coach to new teachers at a local urban STEM charter school for girls in her community.

Phyllis Donatto, Leadership Development Strategist for Flippen Group, provides districts with professional development training focused on improving instructional practices and curriculum alignment. Drawing on her extensive experience as a secondary and postsecondary educator and administrator, she has presented at the international, national and state level on topics ranging from effective course design to teacher effectiveness.

Donatto served as a campus improvement specialist, data specialist and Title I campus coordinator in Fort Bend ISD. In the Monroe City Schools System, she served as an elementary school teacher and administrative intern. Her higher education experiences include serving as an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Louisiana at Monroe; PK-16+ coordinator; education representative for Louisiana’s Blue Ribbon Commission; and adjunct professor at Jarvis Christian College in Jarvis, Texas, and Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas.

A first-generation college graduate, Donatto earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in reading, a doctorate in curriculum and instruction, and a master’s in theological studies from the Houston Graduate School of Theology in Houston, Texas.

Rodney Flowers, founder and president of Inspirational Endeavors, LLC, inspires, motivates and encourages individuals to reach for their hopes and dreams with earnest expectations regardless of their limitations or challenges.

After a traumatic high school football injury, Flowers was paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Despite an unfavorable prognosis for recovery, he spent the next 18 years regaining his ability to walk and making a positive impact on the world.

Today, Flowers is an internationally respected writer, communicator, influencer, thought leader and change agent for overcoming life’s adversities and maximizing individual achievement and success.

Flowers is a three-time international Amazon bestselling author, keynote speaker, CEO, entrepreneur, transformational leader and resilience trainer.

Madeline Levine is the Senior Manager of Community Partnerships and Outreach at Girls Who Code, an international nonprofit that works to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does.

As a passionate advocate of social justice, Levine works to foster strong community partnerships with school districts, library networks, and community-based organizations so that every girl has the opportunity to gain the confidence and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century.

Before devoting her work to Girls Who Code, Levine had previously served as an Assistant Principal at a progressive charter school in New York City, where she managed instruction and teacher development in science, math, and literacy for grades K-4 - achieving results in the top 1% of all New York state public schools. Levine first became passionate about education reform while serving as an AmeriCorps member in an urban education fellowship program committed to closing the achievement gap.

She received her BS in Psychology from Union College and holds a Women in Leadership Certification from Cornell.

Leslie Hazle Bussey is CEO and Executive Director of GLISI (the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement), a nonprofit serving and growing over 1,500 school leaders annually in 50+ districts across Georgia.

Now in her 10th year at GLISI, Bussey leads a team of skilled facilitators, designers, and researchers of adult development experiences to bring to life GLISI’s mission, which is also their theory of action: Uplift school leaders,  transform mindsets and action, create vibrant cultures of innovation and build excellent and equitable schools.

GLISI’s approach to leader development recognizes that leaders need more than technical skills to successfully build vibrant school cultures that disturb the status quo and engage every child – and adult – in meaningful learning experiences connecting them to a choice-filled future.

Prior to GLISI, Bussey was Director of Research in the Learning Centered Leadership group at SREB. She began her career over 25 years ago as a teacher of middle grades students in Lusaka, Zambia.

Bussey holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Saint Louis University, an M.Ed. in Educational Media and Technology from Boston University, and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Washington.

Catherine Guimarães, Regional Director for Teaching Channel since 2015, supports districts in using Teaching Channel Plus – a video-enabled learning management system – and adopting personalized professional learning. She believes educators are powerful influencers and leaders in making a better universe. 

Prior to her work with Tch, Guimarães led a team in designing online learning courses, served as an assistant principal at Girls Prep Middle School, led educators across New York City in the transition to the Common Core, and taught in middle schools in Boston and Washington, D.C.

Guimarães holds a Master of Social Work and a Master of Public Policy from Columbia University.